Professional groomers are great, but they aren’t always an option – you also need to know how to groom your dog yourself. Here are a few easy grooming techniques to keep your dog clean and healthy.

Brushing your dog

Brushing is a crucial step – and one you can introduce daily. It’s quick, easy, and removes loose fur, dirt and debris from your dog’s coat. Added bonus? It reduces the fur cast around your home, waiting to clog up your vacuum cleaner. Lastly, you can use this time to check your dog’s skin and coat for ticks, lumps, cuts or any other skin issues.

Washing and bathing your dog

Anyone who has attempted to bathe a dog for the first time knows it’s no easy feat. We recommend getting your pup used to bathing at a young age and perfecting your process over time. As a rough guide, you want to be washing your dog around once a month, but it depends on the breed and what the dog generally gets up to. Don’t wash your dog more than necessary or you could risk stripping the natural oils from their coat, causing it to dry out. This is a particular risk when using harsh soap-based shampoos. Natural, locally-made shampoos are a safer bet. (Whatever you do, ALWAYS use dog shampoo rather than human products. )

Gently lather your dog and do your best to keep soap out of their eyes and ears. Make sure you wash the shampoo out thoroughly to avoid skin irritation. Lastly, towel-dry your pup and pop them in the backyard or a sunny area to dry off. You’ve been warned: they might try to dry themselves on the furniture.

Cleaning your dog’s ears

This step isn’t quite as straight-forward as the rest. For obvious reasons, a lot of dog owners prefer to leave this one to the professionals. However, if you want to tackle it yourself, take extra care not to damage your dog’s ears and keep an eye on them for a few days after for signs of infection.

Only specially-designed dog ear cleaners should be used in your dog’s ears. Drip this solution into your pet’s ear and gently massage them to help break down the wax and debris. After about 20 seconds, carefully and gently use a clean tissue (not cotton tip) to clean the debris. Then repeat this process on the other ear.

Trimming your dog’s nails

How often do dogs need a nail trim? This really depends on how active they are. Active dogs will have their nails naturally worn down, while slower indoor dogs will need their nails trimmed regularly.

A dog’s toenails consist of the nail itself and the quick (the pink part inside, which supplies blood to the nail). Be very careful that you don’t cut into the quick, because it’ll bleed quite a lot and, more importantly, hurt your doggo! It’s best to use proper pet nail clippers when trimming. You’ll also find them much easier.

Want to learn more about how to be the best pet parent to your pup? Check out the Baxta Blog for dogs.